Housing and retail plan divides town
Scheme includes hundreds of houses and a discount store
Controversial plans for a huge housing and retail development on the outskirts of Blairgowrie have come under fire.
Hundreds of new houses, a discount supermarket chain, a care home, spaces for business and areas for community use could be phased in over a number of years on a large site off Blairgowrie’s Perth Road.
But the scheme has divided opinion in the town.
One member of the public at a recent Blairgowrie and Rattray Community Council meeting urged people not to “sacrifice a huge part of land in Blairgowrie for cut-price imported food”.
In an impassioned plea she said: “I have been visiting Blairgowrie since 2002 and moved here four and a half years ago.
“I have three children and I came here for my family and would love to see the town fulfil its potential.
“But I haven’t really seen anything developed here for my children.
“We bought a house near to the Westpark Partnership development site and are concerned about problems with infrastructure.
“In addition, care homes are closing down in the town so why would we need another one?
“The church on Reform Street is one of several buildings that are just left to rot by developers. It could be a resource centre or social housing for people who would be honoured to live there and take pride in their surroundings.
“I also have a problem with the discount store. I don’t think we should be sacrificing a huge part of land in Blairgowrie for cut-price imported food.
“If the discount store really cared about Blairgowrie, there are plenty of other spaces in the town where they could be already.
“Please don’t be fooled by this Blair’s last big industry is tourism and we can’t take that view for granted. I think it is wrong to sell it for cheap food.”
And another member of the public commented: “If there are to be 400 homes then potentially there could be up to 800 cars on that site.
“For a town that has so little infrastructure it’s grotesque.
“Investment should be going into schools.
“It’s obscene that Blair can be held to ransom by the developers. These proposals are just like building another town on the edge of Blairgowrie.
“I’m not arguing that we don’t need houses, we do need houses but we have got to look at infrastructure too.
“And once we have got those 400 houses there Muirton Woods will not exist - that whole biodiversity and eco-system will be gone.”
Proposals for the long-term scheme on the 74-acre site were first submitted to Perth and Kinross Council in late 2014 by the Westpark Partnership LLP.
But the developers were advised by planners to re-think their plans and in March this year held a public consultation event in Blairgowrie Town Hall to give local people the chance to have their say on the proposals, which could change the face of Blairgowrie for generations to come.
Speaking at its meeting in April, chair of Blairgowrie and Rattray Community Council, Morag Young, said she had been informed by the developers that since the public
For a town with so little infrastructure it’s grotesque. Investment should go into schools. It’s obscene being held to ransom by developers. These proposals are like building another town on the edge of Blairgowrie
consultation in March, they would be focusing on the zoning aspects of the site to determine which areas would be earmarked for housing and which would be designated for retail development.
Mrs Young said that the developers would be asking for planning in principle in the first instance and that they had assured her that all feedback would be considered within a consultation exercise for the masterplan and detailed planing application.
She added: “This is why it is so important that when these open days and consultation events take place people come along and have their say.
“These things are not set in stone at this stage and there is room for people’s comments to be taken on board.”